Those of you who reviewed, thanks bunches!

This chapter contains large amounts of Sasha (yea!), but she'll seem a little out of character. I plan on righting this in the next chapter, so bear with me until then. Unless of course you get where she's coming from. In which case, disregard everything on bold in this page, she's perfectly in character.

"Watch out for the dogs," was Jess's only comment as he opened the gate to Jimmy and Sasha's house, and went in without a second thought. Sasha had insisted on having Rory over for a nice little family dinner, and so Jimmy could meet her. When she'd pointed out that they didn't know the girl who'd traveled cross-country for him, he brought up that her and Lily had already met her. So she fired back that Jimmy was dying to meet Rory, and Jess had lost.

Rory had left Star's Hollow exactly ten days ago. A portion of those days had been spent on a bus, and others had been spent lounging around Jess's house with Jess himself. Every day they wrote, him in the hammock, and her inside on the widow seat. That way they could look at each other, but keep their hands to their selves. This had proved to be a problem. Especially when they were trying to think deeply and worldly.

At night, they'd eat on the boardwalk. They'd come home and Jess would always convince her to jump in the waves with him. Then he'd pick her up and take her to his room, where they'd be up all night exploring each other.

Rory had left Star's Hollow exactly ten days ago. But she had already settled into a routine she could live with for the rest of her life.

Lorelai called every afternoon, which was later morning in California, which was about the time Jess and Rory woke up and began to forage for breakfast. She kept Rory up-to-date as to the town events. She left out the disappointment that seemed to be settling over the town now that Rory had been gone almost two weeks. They felt let down. They'd practically helped Lorelai raise Rory, and then she left them for the exact same guy who'd left town previously.

Back to Sasha's. The dogs barked at the stranger, and Rory grabbed Jess's arm.

"Legolas, Mudball, go lick something disgusting!" Rory looked at him in amusement.

"You know them by name?"

"Yes. Please do not comment."

"You can look at a pack of barking, sniffing, jumping dogs, and identify each one by name?"

"I come over here about once a week."

"Which one is this?" she asked as one made quite a show of sniffing her ass. Jess batted her away.

"Caligula." He walked in the door and held it open for her as she sprinted past the dogs and inside.

"Rory!" Lily exclaimed as she bounced up from the couch where she'd been reading.

"Do not scare the guest, Lily. Whatcha reading?"

"To Kill a Mockingbird. It's for English, but it's not bad." Jimmy ambled in the room at that moment, pant-less.

"Jesus, Dad!" Jess exclaimed in exasperation, as Rory reddened and focused on the pictures decorating the walls.

"Jess, you here? Jimmy, why the hell are you walking around in your boxers when we have company?"

"I'm looking for my pants, Sash."

"Try the closet. The hamper. The laundry room. Not the living room, and not when Jess's girlfriend is here." Jess caught Rory's eye and she smiled at him. Jess's girlfriend. It felt good to be called that again. They'd discussed what they'd tell Sasha and Jimmy about their relationship, and it had been decided that they were officially a couple. Both knew the current situation, California, couldn't last forever. But it was nice to pretend like they could carry on like this forever. And someday soon, they'd decide what they were in the long run.

"Rory, nice to see you again," Sasha pacified while Jimmy left the room.

"You too," she responded, smiling nervously. She'd never had to go through this, meeting the parents, with Jess. She'd known Luke far longer than him when he moved in with his Uncle, and she met Liz only after Jess moved away. Sasha smiled back, trying to make her feel more welcome. She was new at this too. Jess's personal life never really amounted to anything important enough to introduce to him family.

"Well, enough standing there, everyone in the kitchen before the pasta salad gets cold. Jimmy! Pants, kitchen, now!" Everyone followed Sasha's orders, and sat down at the table set with colorful plastic plates and glasses with smiling suns on them. Rory grinned at the place settings. Lorelai would love it.

Sasha gave Rory a few more minutes to feel comfortable. Even Jess's hand on her knee under the table couldn't make the butterflies in her stomach go away, but after a few minutes of Lily and Jess bantering about To Kill a Mockingbird and Sasha wrist-slapping Jimmy over the pants issue, she felt somewhat at ease.

"So, Rory," Sasha began, and stopped to take a drink. Rory swallowed her food and awaited the woman's stream of endless questions about her and Jess. Jess had forewarned her that Sasha's greatest thrill in life was poking her nose into Jess's business.

"Why the sudden urge to visit our neck of the woods?"

"Jess and I thought I should come out for a few weeks because no one in Star's Hollow really, well, likes him. Or thinks he should be allowed to roam the streets."

"I know the feeling. But don't your friends wonder why you've been away?"

"They all know why I'm here."

"Which is why?"

"To catch up with Jess. I haven't seen him since I was in high school, not counting the time we ran into each other in New York."

"Interesting." Sasha and Jimmy exchanged an amused look, and continued eating. Lily, however, didn't let it remain silent for long.

"How did you meet Jessy?" Jess scowled at her, hating the nickname Sasha and Lily used teasingly for him sometimes.

"Uh, he moved to Star's Hollow when I was 16. Do you not read Jess's books because you're his step-sister?"

"I read them, I just thought he was making all that small town stuff up."

"I told you it was a true story."

"Yea, well you also told me Santa was real." Jess stopped eating and threw his hands up.

"I didn't know Jimmy had already spilled the beans!" Rory smiled as the two bickered for a little while, loving the big-brother side of Jess.

"Alright you two, knock it off!" Sasha yelled as Lily launched a spoonful of pasta salad at Jess. Rory blinked, not having seen that one coming. Jimmy sighed and leaned over the table to whisper to her.

"It's not dinner at the Marino house until someone's food is flying through the air."

"Noted," Rory said, nodding seriously. Jess wiped his face off, pondering how he could retaliate. One look from his step-mother, however, made him resume eating immediately. Rory also loved the son side of Jess.

After dinner, Sasha volunteered Lily and Jess to clean up while she invited Rory into the living room to dig out embarrassing photos of Jess. She rummaged through boxes of pictures that had never made it into photo albums, occasionally finding one she deemed humiliating enough.

"This is him his first week in California. You'll notice the black pants, black shirt, and black leather jacket. You will also notice the look on his face, as it finally dawns on him that he's dressed like a bloody idiot." Jess rolled his eyes from the sink where he was washing dishes, choosing not to remember how stupid it had been to defiantly wear those clothes in the California summer.

"I think I have some more in my closet, Rory follow me." Helplessly, Rory followed Sasha out of Jess's range of hearing. What neither of them knew was Sasha and Jimmy had talked about this ahead of time.

While his wife and Rory were in their bedroom, Jimmy nervously cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together, standing next to Jess in the kitchen.

"So…you and Rory…"

"What did Sasha tell you to ask me, Dad?"

"Nothing. At all. I'm just curious how things are going with Rory. Am I not allowed to wonder about my son?"

"She put you up to this."

"No she didn't. Fine, yes she did. But I'm still curious. From what I've heard about her, she's not one to spontaneously travel across the country to be with her ex-boyfriend."

"Is there a question here?"

"Why is she here? How long is she here for? What does her mother think about this? What are you two, exactly? Is she staying permanently? Are you going back to Connecticut? How are you going to do the long distance thing?"

"…and I get seven questions. I should think before I open my mouth and ask for clarification."

"Answer them. I'm not good at the whole bonding thing, you know that, so just answer me honestly and simply." Lily hopped up on the counter to watch Jess's face as he continued to rinse the plates, a shadow of a smile on his face.

"She's here because things would never work out in Star's Hollow. We haven't talked about when she's going back, or how we're going to make this work, but we'll find a way. I'm not moving, though. Don't worry about that, we'll have plenty of 'bonding time'."

Sasha smiled widely at Rory as she dug through the shoebox, looking for Jess pictures.

"So, you and my step-son. Never thought he'd be with someone like you."

"Excuse me?" Rory asked, surprised.

"I mean that in a good way. I don't think the majority of his girlfriends are literate." Rory grimaced. So he still hooked up with girls like Shane.

"I'm glad he's with a smart girl, and you seem nice. All pluses in my book. But listen to me Rory." She put the box down and looked Rory squarely in the eye.

"Jess may act all smartass, hardcore, bad boy. But he's a sweetheart underneath. He cares, even though he fights tooth and nail to pretend he doesn't. Now, I've never seen him get his heart broken, because he's never given it to anyone. And he walks in here tonight with you, shooting you secret looks and resting his hand on your leg, very smooth of him by the way tell him that, during dinner. I have not seen this side of Jess before. I like it, and I like you for bringing it out in him. But you make him show me what he looks like with a broken heart, and I will hunt you down. Jess may have a biological mother, but he's been a son to me ever since he moved here, and I am not gonna let you walk out of here with him without telling you this. Don't hurt him." Sasha smiled thinly as she got up, putting the box away. It was all pictures of her and Jimmy. Rory followed her back to the living room, uneasy.

On the walk home, she told Jess about their conversation. He raised his eyebrows at Sasha's maternal threat, and only pulled Rory closer to him in response.

"I agree. Don't hurt me," he said quietly and seriously as she slipped her arm around his waist.

"Wouldn't dream of it," she replied, kissing his cheek.

When they got home, Jess stepped outside to try and write while Rory called Lorelai to tell her about the night's events.

"'Don't hurt him'? Jeez, from what you told me about Sasha, I'd have expected her to ask if the two of you were sleeping together. And when you answered affirmatively, she'd have asked you all about it."

"I know, but she was totally serious. It's kind of sweet, even though I'm terrified of her. I don't want her to hunt me down!"

"Well, it's not like I didn't do the same with Jess. Hey, put him on the phone so I can terrorize him, will ya?"

"No can do, he's working."

"You mean the two of you are actually getting work done? Because from what I heard, it was all about the, you know..."

"Dirty minded," Rory accused, rolling her eyes.

"Well I don't deny it. Any return date yet?"

"None so far, but I promise I will tell you in advance."

"I'm bored. It's no fun when you're not here."

"You need to find an outside source of entertainment. I will not always be around to play with you, Lorelai," she scolded her mother.

"Well, Luke's burning something and Sookie's working herself to death and I have no more friends."

"Go watch a movie."

"But there's no one to help me mock it!"

"Go read a book."

"When did we switch bodies again?"

"Go take a walk."

"I've seen everything there is to see. You're tedious."

"Well then I'm out of ideas. It looks like you'll have to find something to do all by yourself."

"No, wait, I'm desperate! Keep thinking!"

"Visit Grandma."

"As soon as you come back, I'm placing you under the care of professionals. What on earth would make you suggest that?"

"You're bored, go hang out with Grandma."

"What is in the water in California? Sweetie, you're not supposed to drink directly from the ocean."

"I was serious, but if you're going to mock me, I can go amuse myself elsewhere."

"Sure you can, because your boyfriend has time for you!" She said the last part loudly enough that Luke would hear her in the kitchen.

"I'll talk to you later, now go do something with yourself."

"Love you," Lorelai pouted as Rory hung up.

"How're Rory and Jess?" Patty asked, sitting beside Lorelai.

"They're just peachy. She met his dad and his step-mom, who apparently threatened to 'hunt her down' if she broke Jess's heart."

"Are we talking about the same Jess? The one who broke Rory's heart?" Patty asked sarcastically. Lorelai shrugged.

"He's doing better, I guess."